Securing Your Teaching Position
teachNOLA is currently recruiting new teachers in early childhood education, elementary, English, math, science, special education, and Spanish. Candidates interested in teaching one of these subjects must meet the content-area eligibility requirements outlined on our website.
If you successfully complete our Pre-Service Training, you will enter the job search pool just like any other teacher. It is important to understand that securing a teaching position is a challenging process, and one that requires patience and proactive participation on your part. Due to mobility within the school system, it is often difficult to predict exact vacancies until very close to, and in some cases, just after, the beginning of the school year. Additionally, hiring is largely driven by school needs and each candidate’s qualifications.
As you begin your job search, teachNOLA will connect you with vacancy postings, share timely news about upcoming school and district job fairs, and occasionally coordinate interviews with principals who reach out to us regarding teaching openings at their schools. In addition, our team offers hands-on assistance to Fellows through job-search workshops, résumé review support, mock-interview events, and other related services.
Admission to teachNOLA is the first step toward becoming a teacher in New Orleans and does not guarantee that you will find a teaching position for the fall. In addition, Fellows must successfully complete our rigorous Pre-Service Training and master our Fast Start skills to begin teaching in the fall, and we anticipate that not all Fellows who begin training will successfully complete it. Whether you end up working in a district-managed school or an area charter school, you must be prepared to be extremely flexible about your teaching assignment, with the expectation that you will work in the school where you are needed most.
A Typical Teaching Day
Because of the decentralized nature of the school system in New Orleans, the school day varies by school. In addition to instructional hours, all teachers spend time preparing lessons, reviewing student work, attending faculty meetings, or supervising extracurricular activities. During your first year, you will also attend seminars to earn certification through TNTP Academy. Balancing these priorities will be challenging, but your coursework will be immediately relevant to your work in the classroom, so you can apply what you learn in the evening with your students the next day. Still, you should anticipate that Pre-Service Training and your first year in the classroom will be very demanding as you strive to meet your own professional development goals and the achievement goals you set for your students.